doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Amsoil Firearm Cleaner review

No, I don't sell Amsoil.

Kerosene, Rem-Oil, and engine assembly lube have been all I've used for years with satisfaction but I needed something to fill out an order for automotive gear lube to get the free shipping so I bit on this.

It's Amsoil Firearm Cleaner and Protectant in the bottle and not the spray can. Yes, it's a bit expensive.

I've done routine cleaning on two 45 automatics and two shotguns so far, and I'm fairly impressed. It works quite well, especially on the ring of crud that always accumulates in the pointless 3" chambers they insisted on putting in my target guns. A few drops on a brush got that out of the barrels way faster than anything I remember ever using.

This stuff is near odorless, with a slight hint of Zippo fluid which isn't surprising since the MSDS shows heavy and light hydrotreated petroleum distillates, isoparaffin (naptha), and Dodecenylsuccinic acid (which apparently is a corrosion inhibitor).

I'd buy it again and I'm a hard sell on this sort of thing.

Good to hear, but, if I ever buy any, it would be a pain getting rid of that guy up the street who sells it.

Made that mistake exactly once.

Best,
Ted

I simply purchased through their website.

No local direct marketing involved.

They have free ship on $50 through 6-30.

Amsoil is a boutique blender to be sure, and they do charge a premium. Their multi-level marketing has worked for them and they have a following.

Their gear oil in particular gets top of class reviews from many long time users.

I'm all for it. It's capitalism at it's finest, and you're free to buy elsewhere if you can find products that suit you for less.

I just ordered some engine assembly lube from them since I'm about out of the stuff made by the long defunct 'Coastal' that Jim Legg turned me on to 15 years ago. I have not found anything as good as that yet. Fingers crossed.

Question-how do you appraise the superiority of one engine assembly lube over another. I simply went down to NAPA, purchased a tube of the white slime they sell, used it liberally with a quart of 10W30 motor oil, and ran the Chevy 400 I built 230,000 miles, selling it after the car it was in pretty much desolved in Minnesota salt.
Oil consumption was minimal. The exhaust valves were all white/gray.

I�m serious.

Best,
Ted

For it's intended purpose I wouldn't know.

I should have better explained that. Sorry.

My use is as a hinge pin and bolt notch lube on break open guns.

The Coastal product came in a handy small tube, stayed homogeneous, and stayed where you put it. That's how i judge the stuff. It is just a thin grease with extra tackifier. My empirical test is a Browning XS that has seen nothing but Coastal since new 15 years ago and shows essentially zero wear.

The Permatex product requires constant mixing and is too thin. Other grease products are waxy, even the synthetics. They just don't stick like the Coastal did.

I always hear that the type/brand of lube used for this application doesn't matter. I don't agree. The Coastal EAL was so much superior to anything I've tried that the search for a replacement is still on.

"Engine Masters" on Motor Trend TV is sponsored by Amsoil. They've got an oil and lube for every configuration of build you can think of. Like Ted, I've always used the white assembly lube from the part store with the exception of some high lift flat tappet cams I've bought that had an assembly lube included with them. For expensive oil check out Royal Purple....too rich for me.

I hope this doesn�t explode into a hinge pin lube thread. I hate it when that happens.

That said, Mobile 28 or Mobile One Universal Synthetic grease have worked very well for me. I like the temperature stability, excellent lubricity, and the shelf life is the gold standard. It will still be an excellent lube a decade after you put it in place.

Try that with white lithium grease. I will agree, I wouldn�t use the parts store engine assembly lube as a hinge pin lube, BUT, I would rather see and buy a gun that someone had made an effort to use something in that area. Anything beyond Vaseline would be OK in that regard. I don�t know why people use Vaseline on guns. But, they do.

I typically use a toothpick to apply it. After use, it is right where I left it, and I clean it off and reapply.

Best,
Ted

Funny you should mention that.

I have a pound of M1 synthetic here from when I started playing with Garand rifles a few years ago. Most sources indicated this was the lube of choice.

I'm not impressed. My Coastal simply works better. Mind you I'm not preparing for the battle of Chosin. It's warm out or I don't go rifle shooting.

I've tried that Outers stuff too. Pretty much useless.

Gunslick just turns everything it touches black.

Lubriplate plates everything except where you actually want it.

This is all subjective of course. It's always my favorite stuff that gets discontinued.

They even screwed up Elijah Craig.

A pound is a small investment. If you are that disappointed, PM me and I�ll buy it off you.
I use it on almost every nut and bolt on any implement around the place. It insures I can remove the steel bearings from the aluminum spindles on my wife�s car (whoever came up with this idea should be flipping hamburgers in fast food hell for a decade or two) and I�ve used it on all the guns for longer than I care to admit.
Perhaps you could get an engineering sample of Mobile 28, to see if that comes closer to what you are looking for?

I like the fact it stays where I put it.

Good luck.

Best,
Ted

PS When I buy an Amsoil product online, the local rep still dutifully shows up, briefcase in hand, wanting me to be his junior partner. I asked him for a catalog of products, but, he didn�t have one.

I will in fact try the Mobil 28.

Thanks.